JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #120: It’s…Complicated…

Published: September, 1965

Russ and I watch a lot of TV. At least it seems like a lot to me, because before I met him, I lived for many years without broadcast television, only watching DVD movies on my enormously huge box TV (Remember those from the early 2000’s?). It was partially an artistic decision, but really more a financial consideration because…well, never mind, now I’m really making this a lot more complicated than it needs to be.

But that’s my point. Life is complicated. Stories are complicated. And now, it turns out, even comics are complicated. At least, this issue of Journey Into Mystery made me excessively aware of how very complicated the Marvel Universe is getting, as early as the latter part of 1965.

GET YOUR STORY STRAIGHT!
As if to set the scene for my Complications Thesis, the cover of this issue represents the title as “In My Hand This Hammer!” But turn the page to the splash, and what do we see? “With My Hammer In Hand!” Why?? Does the cover artist not consult with the splash artist? And aren’t they actually the same artist? For what possible reason is there no consistency in the title, unless it’s specifically to let the readers know that “Hey! This is not the straight-forward single story Marvel Universe you’ve been used to! Now, it’s starting to get a lot more complicated…”

MOVING RIGHT ALONG…
For the last issue of Journey Into Mystery, I joked about why Thor would choose Earth of all places to repair his hammer, but indeed, here he heads straight to “the great blast furnaces of Pittsburgh!” Then, in the first panel, he triumphantly exclaims, “There! It is done!” It’s almost like the writers were simply tired of the problems they had laden him with in the last issue, and were anxious to now laden him with a whole new set of problems.

But before we get to Thor’s new problems, we briefly see him in the forest, surrounded by birdies and bunny rabbits. I almost feel I’m in a 1960’s Disney musical cartoon! But don’t get too comfortable. That’s just about as simple and tranquil as this story is going to be. After this, it really starts to get complicated.

As you may remember from last time, Thor now has one job: to get the Norn stones back to Odin. But immediately, he carelessly lets one slip away. The Narrator blames the “ancient” pouch, but I’m blaming the writers. Surely they are leaving that stone on planet Earth as a way of planting a seed for further chaos down the road.

When Thor gets back to Asgard and hands the stones over to Odin, neither seem to notice the missing stone. So, not going there, at least not yet. Turns out this story is going to be about something else.

And to some degree, this story is about Loki.

And I have to begin by asking…why does Thor insist that Loki “cannot HELP the evil he perpetrates”? Why does he feel compelled to give Loki “a pass”? In the very next panel, Loki refers to himself as “the god of evil,” then speaks of himself the same way again, later in the story. Clearly Loki hasn’t learned anything, is not repentant; he’s just going to go on being the god of evil. We know it, and Thor should know it too. Odin sees this as “nobility” on Thor’s part, but I think it’s stupidity, setting them all up for further complications.

MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE OFFICE…
When Thor returns to Dr. Blake’s office after being absent for several months, what did he think he would find? Did he really think all his patients would be patiently waiting for him? Sure, Blake asked Jane to arrange for some other doctor to fill in temporarily, but that doctor also has his own practice, so he would have been stretching himself thin, not able to give Blake’s patients all the attention they deserve. Here, as in most cases, the natural consequence of leading a double life is that at least one of those lives will suffer.

CH-CH-CH-CHANGES
So Blake has been out of the loop in his earthly job, and Thor has also been out of touch regarding his superhero buddies. When Thor is surprised to see the new Avengers in Avengers Headquarters, it reminds us how long he’s been gone. He calls out, “Quicksilver! The Scarlet Witch! Hawkeye!” in what I like to call an “announcement,” and this one is epic, not only because there are three, but Hawkeye’s glib reply, “Go to the head of the class, curly! You got all the names right!” is cocky and priceless. Wonder how Thor feels about this treatment from the new Avengers, whom he has always regarded as villains?

Things are changing so fast in Thor/Blake’s world, he simply can’t keep up! He doesn’t even know this yet, but we do…at least we know something, but not everything, because we see Blake’s beloved Jane Foster with a mystery man. While she is pining for her dear doctor, a shadowy figure on the wall speaks of future menace for the devoted nurse. What in the world is going on with Jane Foster?? We only have time to devote two panels to this side story, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see this develop over the next several issues.

FULL PLATE
So: good guy meets bad guy, fights bad guy, wins, and incidentally, a smattering of unrequited love—next story, please? Those days are over! Let’s review, shall we?

• There’s trouble in Asgard with Loki
• The Norn stone have been accidentally dropped on Earth
• Dr. Blake’s medical practice is not as robust as it once was
• Thor unceremoniously meets the new Avengers
• Who is with Jane Foster and why does she appear so unhappy?

These stories are getting longer and more complicated, incorporating more and more elements from previous issues. Twice, Stan feels compelled to remind the reader what happened before, once saying “Remember?” and another time calling himself “Helpful Stan.”

I realize of course this new practice of getting away from the episodic in favor of multi-issue stories has been going on for a while now. Dr. Strange has been at it for almost a year, and in FF, at least the last five issues are all connected. In fact, it’s interesting to look at the Hulk stories over the last eight months and see the very clear visual connection between the last panel of one story and the splash/first panel of the next. Honestly, all in all, we have pretty much abandoned the episodic format.

So, without even fully realizing it, I’ve been experiencing more complicated storylines for some time now, but there was something about this story that made me sit up, take notice and say, “Wow! That’s…complicated!!”

In addition to the complications within this single title, we now also are beginning to see that each of these titles is interacting with other titles, and in very specific ways. A short time ago, the FF might make an appearance in X-Men, or Dr. Strange shows up briefly to help Thor, but those guest appearances could have happened at any time. Now, specific events in one story work their way into another story. For instance, this question: if the Avengers should show up for a cameo, which set of Avengers will it be? Can’t be the “old” Avengers, unless it’s a story that takes place in the past.

And now, as I’m reading this issue of Journey Into Mystery, it seems Reed and Sue are about to get married! So when Torch goes to help the X-Men, he notes that Reed suspected one of their arch-enemies might try to mess up the wedding. That bit of information didn’t have to be there, but it was. Of course, in the grand ol’ Marvel tradition of self-promotion, it’s a “word of mouth” advertisement for the upcoming Fantastic Four Annual, but it’s also another example of how intertwined the entire Marvel Universe is becoming.

Captain America is currently telling a multi-issue story, but since it’s a story that takes place in the past, there’s really no chance it’s going to intersect with the rest of the Marvel Universe where it stands in September, 1965. But any of the other stories could. This is not simply juggling two or three balls at a time (as if that was simple). The Bullpen is now choosing to keep lots of balls in the air at the same time.

Have I mentioned? It’s…complicated…

SIMPLER TIMES
In the accompanying story, the Asgardian Warriors are about to embark on their journey in a giant flying ship, sailing through the galaxy into the unknown. We stop briefly for some comic relief with the enormous Volstagg (“Take my wife…please!”) and make a little progress with two aptly named villains, Magrat the Schemer and Kroda the Duellist. But again I say: that’s exactly my point! With names like those, is there any doubt these characters will be anything other than villains? Ah, it was indeed a simpler time, eons ago in Asgard…

Of course each Tale of Asgard only goes on for a few pages of three or four panels, so it’s slow going, to be sure. But still, this particular tale began in issue #117, and it’s now #120, the fourth installment, and the story has only just begun. Even in these simpler times with simpler stories, we have abandoned the episodic format.

And that’s not a bad thing. In fact, it’s totally a good thing. Unless you’re a comic book writer, chronologist, or someone (like me) whose memory is not always what it used to be. Confession: I cannot juggle, but I admire those who can. I only hope I can continue to keep my eye on all the balls being tossed in the air!